This invention relates to unitary concrete form installations or assemblies of the flying deck type.
Flying deck forms are a combination of vertical shores and deck forms designed specifically for use in the construction of multi-story structures having typical slabs. Each concrete form installation or assembly consists of an independent block of scaffolding which supports a prefabricated form. Individual installations are placed side-by-side and end-to-end, to form a continuous deck form, which serves as a base for a concrete pour. The installations are flown from floor to floor by means of a crane.
Heretofore, in connection with the erection of internal scaffolding for supporting the deck formwork in flying deck forms, it has been the practice to arrange a series of longitudinally extending sills directly beneath the longitudinal stringers which invariably are a part of the deck formwork, and to cause such stringers to be supported from the sills by means of vertical shoring posts, the lower ends of which rest upon the sills and the upper ends of which carry the stringers. The various posts are aligned both longitudinally and transversely, and they are connected together by braces. It has been standard practice to prefabricate such scaffolding in the form of unit frames, each frame consisting of two posts, together with braces which fixedly and permanently connect the posts together. The frames have been used in either one of two ways; in one way, the frames span adjacent sills, and adjacent frames are connected together by cross braces extending between adjacent posts on each sill. In the other way, the frames extend and are spaced apart along individual sills, and the frames are connected together by cross braces extending between posts on adjacent sills, the cross braces thus spanning the sills. In either manner of use, the fixed frame width represents a design limitation: where the frame width is not sized to support the load at the optimum number or spacing of support points, which frequently is the case, it is necessary for adequate support in certain instances that extra or additional frames be used and, at times, that extra stringers and sills be used. As a result, the installation ultimately exceeds the requirements for supporting the load in many cases, at increased cost and weight, and possibly increased difficulty in handling. It is impractical, as an alternative, to stock fixed frames in the variety of widths which may be suitable.